From
The Towerlight, the student newspaper at Towson University in Maryland. In the picture, Dan and Dena dance at their wedding. Congrats to Dan and Dena!
The self-styled “King Gimp” got his Hollywood ending at The Senator Theatre, where he was finally united with his queen.
Dan Keplinger, a Towson graduate, married his longtime girlfriend Dena Huggler at the historic movie house Wednesday evening. They decided a week ago to make the event open to the public to raise awareness, money and media coverage for the theater's plight.
Foreclosure proceedings began last month against the Senator, after falling $940,000 in debt. More than 500 people attended the ceremony.
“[We opened it to the public] because the Senator is a place to keep,” Keplinger said. “It is like a piece of art. You come not for the movies but you come for the experience.”
Huggler shared the sentiment, adding that Keplinger contributed in a unique way.
“Everyone can contribute,” she said. “And everybody needs to be here when this [theater's] situation is floundering, and Dan is a kind leader and we hope that others would follow his lead in just contributing in different ways.”
City officials and residents are working on finding a solution to stave off the Senator's foreclosure. The theater's owner, Tom Kiefaber, said that while it wasn't the first wedding to be held at the theater, it was a unique situation given the timing.
“We were very concerned, very obviously, for a while there, that we may not have control of the facility to be able to host the event, so it worked out well,” Kiefaber said.
The 36-year-old Keplinger was born with cerebral palsy, but that did not stop him from learning to paint with a headstick. He was the subject of the 1999 documentary “King Gimp,” which chronicled his childhood and rise as an artist.
The HBO film by Susan Hadary and William Whiteford went on to win an Oscar. He continued his education, earning his two bachelor's degrees in mass communication and art at Towson. In 2007, he earned his master of fine arts. He balanced class and art with speaking engagements across the country and around the world.
Richard Ellenson came from New York City to be there at the insistence of his 11-year-old son Thomas, whose son has cerebral palsy. Ellenson has worked on art projects for disabled people with Keplinger in New York.
“That man blazes trails,” he said. “Thomas wants to follow behind him.”
The ceremony was emotional, unorthodox, tearful and triumphant. It opened with a music video and a clip from “The Muppet Show” played on the theater's storied screen. The groom was dressed in a T-shirt and khakis and the bride in a colorful dress.
The ceremony was conducted with Keplinger and Huggler seated on the Senator stage and order of remarks was decided through “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” When asked for his vows, Keplinger answered with a “Hell yes.”
It ended with a charity auction of one of Keplinger's painting to benefit the Senator Community Trust, a non-profit organization seeking to pay off the Senator's debts and turn the theater into a community arts center.
The painting depicted the legs of a figure in a wheelchair, presumably Keplinger, grasping a wine glass between his toes. Bidding started at $41.09 (for April Fool's Day) and ended at $2500.
Keplinger's mother, Linda Ritter, put on her auctioneer hat – literally – to take the bids. She said running the auction was a great way to be able to help the theater's cause.
“Dan grew up in this theater... so this is a theater we're passionate about,” she said.
From here, Keplinger and Huggler are preparing for their honeymoon trip to Vietnam in 2010.
“This is a new chapter of my epic,” Keplinger said.
Keplinger and Huggler are now getting ready for that next chapter in the story of “King Gimp.” Until then, he will bask in his newest victory. As the marquee outside put it, “Checkmate.”
From The Towerlight, the student newspaper at Towson University in Maryland. In the picture, Dan and Dena dance at their wedding. Congrats to Dan and Dena!